With the ever-increasing digitisation of work, life and play, data centres are becoming fundamental infrastructure in our built environment. NEXTDC Merlot 2 (M2) is a colocation data centre that will deliver 60 megawatts of critical IT infrastructure to enterprise and government in a climate of unprecedented digital innovation.

Strategically located near Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport and its surrounding transport and telecommunications network, the purpose-built campus and high-grade contemporary workspace has been fitted out with commercial office space, meeting rooms, training spaces, an auditorium and customer amenity.

Standing proud as a landmark in its site context, the building’s dynamic form and striking red filigree façade of articulating blades juxtaposes the aluminum structure. These blades respond to the high level of solar exposure, optimise sun shading and create a dappled effect across the transformative structure.

Generated through emerging data-driven design technologies, HDR has utilised computational and generative design to rapidly evaluate manipulated parameters in real time and deliver a future-proof campus that can scale into a network of interconnected data halls on demand.

By thoughtfully integrating deeply technical, data-driven processes, while still maintaining focus on community well-being, HDR has conceived a resilient, sustainable, and high-performance facility that enable digital transformation and accelerate the capacity for interconnected cloud infrastructure.